Going Off Site at Pennsic

Getting Started

Take Currie Road back out to the stop sign at Route 422. A right turn will take you west toward New Castle. A left turn will take you east toward Interstate 79, Moraine State Park, and Lyndora/Butler (in that order).

[If you would rather not make a left turn onto 422, you can turn right off Currie before you reach the fenced school bus lot. Follow that small road up to a T intersection, turn left, and almost immediately you will encounter signs for entrances onto 422 in both directions. This is also a handy way off Currie when the traffic backs up.]

Be sure everyone leaving the site has his/her Pennsic medallion with him. Even small children need to be wearing their wristbands. You cannot get back into the War without your medallion. Take the parking hang tag off your inside mirror when you are on public roads. Leave it in the car, though, since you will need to re-hang it in order to bring your car back on site.

Most businesses in the area are used to the SCA by now. There might be a fancy restaurant or two where it wouldn't be appropriate to be dressed in garb. Leave the live steel (knives, daggers, etc.) in the car when you go into a business.

(b>PA liquor sales in brief: You must be 21 or over. If you are under 30, expect to be carded, so have photo I.D. along. You cannot buy any alcoholic beverages in a supermarket in PA. You can buy beer, ale, and other malt beverages at a beer distributor or from a bar/tavern that has "package" service. To buy kegs, cases, etc., you go to a beer distributor. To buy wine or hard liquor, you must go to a state-run store called a Wine & Spirits Shoppe. Neither these stores nor the beer distributors are open on Sundays. You can buy six packs or bottles from a bar/tavern that is open on Sundays.

PA tobacco sales: You must be 18 to buy cigarettes, etc. If you are under 30, expect to be carded, so have photo I.D. along.

PA lottery tickets are available at Sheetz and other convenience stores, as well as many beverage distributors and some supermarkets. You can now buy Powerball tickets in PA.

Shenango Beverage is 8.0 miles or 13 minutes from Cooper’s Lake.
Beer 4 Less in New Castle is 12.4 miles or 22 minutes away, and
CASES is 9.9 miles, but only 14 minutes away. East, toward Butler.

There are at least three or four Wine & Spirit Shoppes in New Castle. The easiest one to find is on Ellwood Road. As you approach New Castle on Route 422, take the bypass (signs for Youngstown, OH), and then leave the bypass at the first exit (Route 65, Ellwood Road). Turn left at the top of the ramp and go about half a mile to a shopping center on the right hand side.

If you prefer to go to Butler on 422 East, take the Lyndora/Rte. 356 exit, go right at the top of the exit ramp, and then follow the road a very short distance to the Moraine Pointe Plaza, easily visible on your right. There is another Wine & Spirits Shoppe there.

Check with Pennsic veterans in your own camp or nearby who may recommend other beverage distributors.